A.G. Gancarski
Something fishy happened at a Panhandle press conference discussing red snapper season.
Gov. Ron DeSantis was interrupted in the middle of his preamble by a protester hollering from the back of the room. It was unclear what the heckler said, but the Governor offered a response from the microphone.
“That’s a fraud. You should be ashamed of yourself for peddling those bogus narratives,” DeSantis said, before the interloper was brought to heel.
Presumably the demonstration had nothing to do with fishing, though it may have revolved around Hope Florida issues.
Asked about the outburst, DeSantis said, “The guy needs to get on his medication, man. That guy’s got some serious issues.”
DeSantis has dealt with protesters at various points in his political career.
In 2024 at the University of Florida, he was greeted by pro-Palestinian slogans as he messaged about how encampments wouldn’t be tolerated in Florida the way they were elsewhere.
“So much of this is just such a farce that it’s just kind of embarrassing to even hear some of this nonsense,” DeSantis said at one point, as chants distracted speakers.
DeSantis said students protesting were “completely fine” with how Hamas “went into Israeli communities and baked babies in ovens, raped women, assassinated elderly people in very brutal ways.”
He was also protested by the Dream Defenders in 2023, whom he called “agitators.”
As a presidential candidate, he also dealt with protests.
In July 2023, DeSantis spoke in Tega Cay, South Carolina, and led off his remarks with a denunciation of President Joe Biden when people in the front of the crowd began to unfurl Pride flags.
“Have you heard Biden? He will say when it comes to children, they’re not your children. They’re all of our children,” DeSantis said, as Moms for Liberty members tried to yank the flag from the hands of one of the young people holding it.
“First of all, as a dad of a 6-, a 5- and a 3-year-old … they’re not his children. I can tell you that. But when he’s sitting here talking about all of our children, I have something to say to him. Why don’t you focus on spending more time with your granddaughter in Arkansas or at least acknowledge she exists before you worry about our children?” DeSantis added.
While he was talking, a cadre of men in dark jackets approached the kid with the rainbow flag, preceding his swift departure from the room, which finally earned a direct address from DeSantis.
“And they shouldn’t be worrying about our children either. We don’t want you indoctrinating our children. Leave our kids alone,” DeSantis said, getting cheers throughout the room.
In June 2023, someone calling him a “f****** fascist” briefly derailed a rote speech in Lexington.
“We’re not going to let you impose an agenda on our kids,” the Governor said. “We’re going to stand up for our kids. We’re going to make sure to do it right. That’s what we’re going to do, yeah!”
In New Hampshire in 2023, DeSantis encountered some women storming the stage chanting “Jews against DeSantis.”
They were removed, with the Governor looking only briefly concerned before offering a quip to return proceedings to normalcy.
“You’ve got to have a little spice in the speech. You’ve got to have a little fun. Why do you want to pay the ticket for that to get in? But different strokes for different folks,” DeSantis said, before returning to his stump speech.
